Howard Burditt -You taught me so much

When I was starting out as a photographer in Zimbabwe, Howard was one of the first people I moved around with. He generously taught me the ropes – especially how to shoot cricket. I’ll never forget being thrown into the deep end by AP to cover one of my first international matches: Zimbabwe vs England at Harare Sports Club in 2003.

There I was, clueless, and there was Howard, guiding me around the field, showing me where to stand, what to look for, and when to click. “You should bring a sun hat, Tsvangirayi,” he’d say, grinning, “And don’t forget the sun tan lotion!”

For years, we rolled across Zimbabwe in his car, chasing stories—most of them violent, some unforgettable. I once got kicked in the backside for bringing a white photographer to a farm invasion. At the time, war vets were aggressive, and simply being seen with a white person could get you labelled a sellout.

Still, I stuck with Howard, and he stuck with me. He understood the terrain and when I said, not today, he never argued.

Ironically, being black gave me access in ways closed to him, and sometimes I got the scoop. But with Howard, skin colour didn’t matter. He was Zimbabwean after all—and to me, always just Howie.

He mastered the art of quick, quiet, precise photography. We were like bank robbers -slipping in and out of chaos with cameras, not guns – and always emerging with visual gold. People feared cameras more than weapons in those days.

We never covered protests alone. That was an unspoken rule – especially for white photographers, who would stick out and risk being targeted. That’s a lesson some young photo-journalists still need to learn.

“Let’s not compete for information,” he’d say, puffing on a cigarette. “Let’s compete with our cameras on the ground.”

Rest in peace, Howie. You taught me so much, gave so much – and never asked for credit.

(Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi is a Journalism Research Fellow at MIT university in the United States. He is the first Zimbabwean elected to the judging panel of the renowned World Press Photo competition)

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